Work from Home and the Use of ICT during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia and Its Impact on Cities in the Future

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in restrictions on activities involving physical contact, such as working. Indonesia began to apply the system of work from home (WfH) to minimize the spread risk of COVID-19 in March 2020. This research is aimed at finding out the coverage of WfH, mapping changes of workplace, identifying the use of ICT to support WfH, and analyzing the concept of workplace and work systems in future cities. The method used in this research is qualitative and quantitative. A questionnaire (Google Form) was sent to different WhatsApp groups whose members are experts in urban and regional planning, geography, the environment, smart cities, and IT, with total of 176 respondents. The focus group discussion conducted online focused on the use of ICT to support WfH during the COVID-19 pandemic. The result of this research shows that even before the pandemic, both the government and private sectors had a plan to apply WfH. Because of the pandemic, it became the catalyst for the implementation of WfH. The implementation of WfH has changed workplace orientation. The use of ICT was a primary need in implementing WfH during the pandemic. However, the WfH system implemented in the government sector has not been integrated, and neither has the one in private sectors. WfH is seen to have been effective enough, but it still needs lots of support from many sectors. In the future, WfH can still be maintained, along with working from the office (WfO). The WfH concept is highly recommended for big cities because it can support reduced population mobilization, resulting in reduced congestion and movement costs, and improved efficiency of working time by reducing travel time. On the other hand, it can help in the matter of limited of space that office buildings provide.